Dog fighting
North Charleston, SC (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 3, 2003
County: Charleston
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Steffone Dawson
A North Charleston man has been charged with dog fighting and animal cruelty. Officials say Steffone Dawson, 19, has been charged with four counts of animal fighting and six counts of animal cruelty. Officials say four pit bulls were taken from a North Charleston home Tuesday.
Diane Nuss with the Charleston County Sheriff's Department, "You could have bets into the thousands on a dog, so you're looking at drug money, you're looking at gambling money and you're looking into breeding."
Steve Stephenson is with the Midlands Humane Society and says the payoff continues if the dog is able to survive, "Once their dog wins three fights they can retire it as a champion and breed puppies and sell them for a thousand dollars a puppy and make tons of cash out of it.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals workers and police say they are getting more calls alerting them to dog fighting and other cases of animal abuse.
Dawson could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined $5000 on each count if he is convicted.
Stephenson investigates dog fighting around the Midlands, "It was big when I started nine years ago and it's getting worse."
Fairfield County Sheriff's Deputy Sherry Sanders explained evidence seized during a recent arrest, "This is a very, very heavy logging chain." She says dogs get chains wrapped around their necks and they're fed protein pills to make them stronger, "Your normal owner of a pet does not carry these types of supplies."
Police say a dog is chained and another animal is placed in a cage in front to tantalize the dog, making him run harder and faster to build muscles for dog fighting. Sanders says the dogs get a reward for their workout, "Usually after they run they'll give the chicken or the cat to the dog as a reward to get 'em used to the blood."
Police recently recovered Jason's stolen pit bull, "His legs were swollen up and he had puncture wounds all over him."
Jason, who's from Orangeburg and asked his last name not be used, believes his dog Jake was used for fighting, "He's gotten more aggressive towards animals." He says that gives his pet a bad rap, "It's not the animals, it's the people who own them."
Sanders says it's difficult to catch dog fighters, "One of the things is they change locations at the last minute, its hard to be able to run up on a dog fight in progress itself."
People charged with dog fighting can face up to a $5000 fine and five years in jail. References« SC State Animal Cruelty Map
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